I still haven't seen this film but it comes out on DVD soon. I really love Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence as actresses, them being hot is just a plus haha. Big fan of Christian Bale too, but like Grim I'm not that high on Bradley Cooper.

I like him (Silver Lining Playbook was a great role for him), but he's definitely guilty of "Bradley Cooper acting like Bradley Cooper".

Frankly, I think you get that a lot in general. I guess there's that "specialization" for a person and giving more what the people like and what the directors think you're good at. Kinda like artist's drawing "same-y" looking people or musicians's music starting to sound alike. I think that's why character actors are a really big deal (the Gary Oldmans, Meryl Streeps, and Sam Rockwells of acting).

Wow, I had never noticed his eyes before. That's crazy! I love me some Gary Oldman & Sam Rockwell for sure. Character actors > every other actor haha

I've only seen the 3 Craig ones, and maybe a couple of the Brosnan movies. I might have seen some others, but they are long forgotten. I was tired when I wrote my Skyfall "review" which is why it's so short. I would normally explain myself better. I was confused for a while as to why they were acting like Bond is a geezer now when it's only been a few years since he started. Or so I thought. They never really explain how much time passes between each movie, so I assumed they were pretty much back-to-back adventures. The character Javier Bardem play, while amusing, just felt like something out of a sketch comedy show. I just wasn't buying it.

Code:

Then we have the eye rolling "He planned this all from the start!" which drives me bonkers. yes, he knew that everything would happen exactly the way it does so his ridiculous plan would work. Riiiiiight. And he somehow doesn't end up shot up while in the courtroom. And, of course, his guys are always there to pick him up at the exact moment he needs them. It all drives me nuts.

And what is with all these presumably smart women disrobing the second they meet Bond? I thought the female agent lady might be an exception, but no. I swear he got busy with three women in the span of 3 days. Eww.Thing is, I still liked it, and that was mostly due to the relationship between Bond and M. Judi Dench is awesome.

Yeah, the problem with using the same actor is that it makes Skyfall look like a sequel to the others, but it has nothing to do with them considering Casino Royale was the start of Bond and this is far later. This was kind of Bond's origin story told when he is past his prime. It does kind of link them to the other films because the male "M" gets introduced after having Judi Dench play it for 20 years. The original "M" was a male in the older Bond films. All of these films have been standalones except for Quantum, which was the very first (and probably last) true sequel in the series. People always try to make a timeline linking the films with certain events that happen, but it is just dumb. There's no point. Anyway, as a tribute to past Bonds and a way to push things forward, they could not have done much better in my opinion. Hopefully Craig lasts another couple of films because he is definitely the best since Connery hands down.

There was a timeline back when the series still followed the books with SPECTRE and all that, but then Live and Let Die put an end to that and just had Bond running around foiling the generic Bond Villain's plot of the year until Craig and Casino Royale (since there really wasn't a good version of Royale by that point).

Also, I will agree with you on Craig being the best Bond since Connery. Especially given the complete lack of competition.

That said, watched Ender's Game. It did a fairly good job in following the book. I wonder if they'll be able to make a Speaker for the Dead movie before the actor playing Ender gets too old?

Blue is the Warmest Color - This movie won awards. It won the freaking Palm D'Whatever award at Cannes. Plus, it got plenty of praise from critics. So it popped up on Netflix, and I decided to give it a try. I didn't even realize it was a 3 hour long movie until I paused it and saw the time on the bottom. Anyway, it's about a young girl trying to figure out her sexuality. We start in High school and move on from there. This girl looks a lot like Kristen Stewart, but prettier. Pretty in a normal kind of way that I liked. Not glammed up, Hollywood pretty. It's a very real and raw movie. It's NC-17 for a reason. The sex scenes, especially. There is one long sex scene between the two main girls that I would classify as true porn. Yowza. I get why they did it, but it could have been cut in half, and the point would have been made just the same. BTW, them ladies both have killer bodies. It was a good story, and nowhere near your typical love story that's churned out on assembly lines. I predicted some of what was going to happen, but there's plenty that I didn't. These characters are real, vulnerable, and make all sorts of mistakes. Be careful who you watch this with, though.

I missed this in theaters and was kind of upset, but not so much now. It's a step down from the original Thor movie with a jumbled plot and lack of original ideas. The story really falls on its face if you give any thought to it and the main villain is incredibly generic. He has no point to him other than being an evil person for Thor to fight. The dynamic between Loki and Thor is the best part of these films and the first movie rode on that relationship well. Loki was a much better villain and when he is on screen the film is better for it. Tom Hiddleston steals all the scenes he is in. Chris Hemsworth is still a fun and likable Thor, but we need more at this point after The Avengers. These last few individual stories in the universe are hard to watch after seeing them all together. The special effects and designs in the film are fantastic and there's some nice action, but nothing that blows other films away. It's a fairly entertaining film, but I expected more.

I missed this in theaters and was kind of upset, but not so much now. It's a step down from the original Thor movie with a jumbled plot and lack of original ideas. The story really falls on its face if you give any thought to it and the main villain is incredibly generic. He has no point to him other than being an evil person for Thor to fight. The dynamic between Loki and Thor is the best part of these films and the first movie rode on that relationship well. Loki was a much better villain and when he is on screen the film is better for it. Tom Hiddleston steals all the scenes he is in. Chris Hemsworth is still a fun and likable Thor, but we need more at this point after The Avengers. These last few individual stories in the universe are hard to watch after seeing them all together. The special effects and designs in the film are fantastic and there's some nice action, but nothing that blows other films away. It's a fairly entertaining film, but I expected more.

Yeah, I didn't find it enjoyable at all really, and I actually fell asleep about 15 minutes before the end.

Saw this movie for the fourth time last night, and I'm still not sick of it, even knowing all the plot twists. It's so rare to see a movie that presents so many disjointed plot elements--Murder trial, rival magicians, "The Transported Man" secret, the Tesla machine--and then brings everything together so seamlessly at the end. Easily holds on to the top spot in my favorite movies.

Saw the Black Cauldron for the first time. It had some issues with it but overall I really enjoyed it. I did love how it was one of the darkest Disney films I have seen. Don't know if it was due to the lack of singing which usually lightens the mood or general doom and gloom though.

Saw this movie for the fourth time last night, and I'm still not sick of it, even knowing all the plot twists. It's so rare to see a movie that presents so many disjointed plot elements--Murder trial, rival magicians, "The Transported Man" secret, the Tesla machine--and then brings everything together so seamlessly at the end. Easily holds on to the top spot in my favorite movies.

"YOU DON'T KNOW?!" has become some of the sh** me and friends say when we don't know something.

12 Years a Slave -- Overall a pretty great film, I'm glad it got the Best Picture Oscar, because the content feels important to what was a very critical aspect and lingering remnant of the colonial era. Certainly the twist of an affluent man forced into slavery makes for a wonderfully captured 'cruel awakening' for Solomon, so it creates a gripping narrative from the get-go. The performances were wonderful and endearing and full of the appropriate gravitas that made each situation feel real. More than anything, I think it's the cast that really brings this one to life. And I take pride that a Canadian character saves the day. FUCK YEAH.

Her -- A very original examination into relationships and some of their more "hidden" and complicated dimensions. The film feels like it's trying to look into the future of relationships, or how they can change or how none are really so simple as, say, most romance films try to trivialize. The choice of filming this movie in Shanghai was perfect to give it that "world of tomorrow" look that makes the technology and environments feel very real and immersive. The second half felt like it builds to something bigger than itself, and I'm not sure I'm entirely convinced by it, but it has some interesting implications as well. Some parts are also weird; our main character isn't exactly how you'd picture a "leading man", but we're still effectively sold on his story, on his apprehensions, and on his heart break and problems. One minor thing that bugged me is that Joaquin Phoenix looks like a pervert/pornstar from the 1970s, while every female co-star is top-shelf hottie that seem to be really into him in some way. C'MON.

Jackass: Bad Grandpa -- Sue me, I'm a sucker for these films. Essentially this film takes the original Jackass with what Sasha Baron Cohen did with Borat and made a film about it. The results are pretty good. His "grandson" plays his part well and works as a good opposite to the dirty old Knoxville in old man makeup. The reactions are what you go in for to the crazy antics. While I liked how staged Jackass is normally, here you get a bit more narrative and the film going in to fuck with people.

I watched this movie simply because I was running out of recent movies I'm interested in on Netflix, and I was pleasantly surprised. The movie kind of hit close to home for me (no pun intended) not necessarily because I'm nearly 30 and living at home, but because I'm a die-hard fatalist. Believing that everything, bad or good, happens for a reason and that there's a such thing as karma gets me through each day. So to have a movie about someone who takes that to an extreme, and not just as an instrument of comedy, was kind of heartwarming. It's also just a solid movie. I often miss the days when comedy could be comedy without needing the obligatory handful of melodrama, but this wasn't one of those times.

I just got back from seeing The Wind Rises. The quick and dirty of it is that it was a great movie and I encourage anyone to go see it. Visually, it's beautiful. I love how the storytelling and pacing are subdued and scenes are allowed to breathe; not like the ADD nature of film these days. I was compelled for the entire duration, which is more than 2 hours. I like that it's just a simple story told well without any melodrama or bombast. There were plenty of dreamy visuals (though those were kept nicely grounded) and plenty of signature visual cues that say "yep, that's Miyazaki."

What I liked is that there was no melodramatic moral conflict about building war planes, which is what typical Hollywood would do. No, Jiro was an engineer to the core and viewed things through that analytical lens. The normal person would be asking "but what about the moral/ethical dilemmas?" but to the true engineer at heart, that's irrelevant. Dream, design, and make the impossible possible. No ifs, ands, or buts. Maybe because my dad is an engineer (a chemical engineer) I could relate to Jiro and his point of view more than someone who maybe doesn't quite "get" the mind of an engineer. The way aircraft designs danced in his dreams reminds me of the way my dad says numbers and designs for the kind of equipment he specializes in simply dance.

Basically, I think that people who dis the movie or its protagonists simply don't "get" it.

Great change of pace from what Miyazaki is most known for. I loved it, though my favorite Miyazaki film is still Howl's Moving Castle.

Ok so Marvel is obsessed with Avengers and The 'BIG' characters. Fair enough but keep it fresh and expand the universe. Im anxiously awaiting Days of Future Past but I want to see a Silver Surfer origins movie. Am I alone here? Maybe the FF reboot will remedy this:/

Ok so Marvel is obsessed with Avengers and The 'BIG' characters. Fair enough but keep it fresh and expand the universe. Im anxiously awaiting Days of Future Past but I want to see a Silver Surfer origins movie. Am I alone here? Maybe the FF reboot will remedy this:/

It isn't so much that Marvel is obsessed with the 'BIG' characters, at least when it comes to X-Men, FF, and Spiderman. Those three are licensed out to 20th Century Fox, and they have to keep making new movies focused on those properties every so many years or they'll lose the license. Frankly it is entirely possible that a Silver Surfer movie wouldn't meet the license requirements. Heck their license might not even extend to a Silver Surfer origin movie.